Friday, November 22, 2013

Opponents of school choice like to say that parents are free to choose any school they want, but if it's a faith-based school then parents have to pay for it themselves. This reminds me of something that Jay Greene recently wrote in another context:

So, the state only pays for its own vision of a good education but you have to pay extra if you want to pursue something else. This is roughly comparable to the status of Dhimmis (non-Muslims in an Islamic state) who are allowed to practice a different religion as long as they pay an extra tax. Doesn’t feel compatible with a free society, does it?

No, it doesn't. Sadly, in the Western Hemisphere, only Cuba and the United States do
not routinely provide public support for parents to choose a faith-based school.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

In a new piece over at Education Next, Jay P. Greene argues that "the oft-repeated claim that state funding requires
accountability to the state is an obviously shallow and false political
slogan rather than a well-considered policy view." After all,

Most state funded programs require no formal accountability to the state and instead rely primarily on the self-interest of the recipients to use the funds wisely. For example, the largest domestic program, social security, is designed to prevent seniors from lacking basic resources for housing, food, or clothing. But we don’t demand that seniors account for the use of their social security checks. They could blow it at the casino if they want. We’re just counting on the fact that most would have the good sense to make sure that their basic needs are covered first.

Even in the area of education most government programs require no formal accountability. Pell Grants, Stafford Loans, and the Daycare Tuition Tax Credit do not require state testing for people using those funds. We just trust that the public purpose of subsidizing education will be served by people pursuing their own interests. Anyone who declares that state funding requires state accountability obviously hasn’t thought about this for more than 10 seconds.

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

It turns out that a former teacher in Porter, Oklahoma, who is now charged with sex offenses resigned from a teaching position in Drumright five years ago after a 17-year-old student told police that he had sex with her, the Tulsa Worldreports.

Whether it's the National Education Association with its call for early childhood education programs in the public schools for children from birth through age eight, or whether it's Mr. Obama talking about his "birth-to-five continuum," or the National Governors Association with its "birth-to-third-grade continuum," or New York City's Sandinista-loving Mayor Bill de Blasio with his push for universal pre-K, so-called progressives want your tax dollars and your kids.

But that's the wrong vision for one of the most conservative states in the nation. Here's a better idea: parental choice.

Saturday, November 9, 2013

"Most American fourth- and eighth-graders still lack basic skills in math and reading despite record high scores on a national exam," AP education writer Kimberly Hefling reports over at Tulsa's channel 8.

Yes, today's students are doing better than those who came before them. But the improvements have come at a snail's pace. The 2013 Nation's Report Card released Thursday finds that the vast majority of the students still are not demonstrating solid academic performance in either math or reading. ... Overall, just 42 percent of fourth-graders and 35 percent of
eighth-graders scored at or above the proficient level in math. In
reading, 35 percent of fourth graders and 36 percent of eighth graders
hit that mark. ...

This test specifically looked at the performance of
American children, but the results from other recent assessments and
studies have shown American children and adults scoring below peers in
many other countries.

In Oklahoma, state superintendent Janet Barresi was pleased that some Oklahoma scores were on the upswing. "Overall, however,
the NAEP report confirms what we’ve long known," she said. "Oklahoma students lag
behind their national counterparts in these key subject areas."

The percentage of Oklahoma students scoring at or
above proficiency is 36 percent in fourth-grade math and 25 percent in
eighth-grade math, according to a press release from the state department of education. In reading, the percentage of Oklahoma students scoring at or above
proficient is 30 percent in fourth grade and 29 percent in eighth-grade.

Thursday, November 7, 2013

"One hundred and thirty-two Catholic professors have sent a letter to each Roman Catholic bishop in the country pleading for them to reject the Common Core national standards in their parochial schools," Brittany Corona writes.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

A new report from researchers at OU and OSU which is highly critical of Oklahoma's A-F grading system is actually serving to "undermine the advocates of public education." This according to Robert Sommers, Oklahoma's secretary of education and workforce development, in a Tulsa World column today.

Sommers says the OU/OSU report "argues for the irrelevancy of public schools in general" and "could negatively impact public school advocates during the upcoming state budget process."

Tuesday, November 5, 2013

A new report
from the National Center for Education Statistics confirms the fact
that parents who choose their child’s school are indeed more satisfied
with the school and its various characteristics than parents who are
assigned a school by the government.

The shortcomings of Oklahoma's public education system are real, Gov. Mary Fallin points out in her latest column.

Data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, for instance, shows that 73 percent of Oklahoma fourth graders are below proficient in reading and 66 percent are below proficient in math. Furthermore, when our high school graduates reach college, they are often doing so without the skill-sets needed to succeed in college courses. More than two in every five Oklahoma college students must take remedial courses, adding time and expense to their education, and making it more likely they will dropout without acquiring a degree.

Educational Choice in a Nutshell

The end goal of “public education” is an educated public. There are many different means to an end. Educational choice refers to any policy that allows parents to choose the safest and best schools for their children, whether those schools are government-operated or privately operated.

In a free society, the government rightly defers to parents when it comes to raising their children. And since education is simply a subset of parenting, the government should defer to parents when it comes to educating their children. Parents, not government officials, have the moral right to determine their child’s path.

Comments Policy

The views expressed in these posts are those of the bloggers and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any institution. The goal of this blog is to create an open discussion about education reform (most notably parental choice) in Oklahoma. All feedback is welcome as long as it includes the commenter's name and doesn't violate the common rules of netiquette.